CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Liftoff of NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, lights up the sky near the NASA Press Site at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch was on time at 4:05 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. RBSP will explore changes in Earth's space environment caused by the sun -- known as "space weather" -- that can disable satellites, create power-grid failures and disrupt GPS service. The mission also will provide data on the fundamental radiation and particle acceleration processes throughout the universe. For more information on RBSP, visit http://www.nasa.gov/rbsp. Photo credit: NASA/David Lee
Location Kennedy Space Center, FL
Date August 30, 2012